“We're very community focussed”: Inside the award winning pub just outside Sheffield
We go inside The Tickled Trout - which has just won the Silver Award in the Visit England Awards for Excellence ‘Pub of the Year’
Sheffield’s location and the ease with which you can venture to a variety of wonderful places are part of the charm of this great city.
One of the places close by that we are lucky to have is the idyllic village of Barlow,.
This is home to The Tickled Trout, which has just won the silver award in the Visit England Awards for Excellence ‘Pub of the Year’. It’s the latest award granted to this award-winning rural destination – a glass display proudly exhibits an impressive array of honours and accolades.
I took a short drive over there to see what it was really like and spent some time speaking with the owner chef patron, Chris Mapp, who proudly told me about their 14 year history.
Prior to buying The Tickled Trout, Chris worked under the tutelage of Marcus Wareing at the two Michelin Starred Pétrus restaurant in London before heading to the Michelin Starred Greenhouse restaurant in Mayfair. This was followed by a period managing No.6 restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall. A time that he found both fulfilling but he felt the urge to return home.
Chris couldn’t believe his luck when his old local came up for sale. What followed was a steady transformation from a run-down country drinking hole into a multi award-winning pub restaurant that really is a centre-piece in this Derbyshire village.
“We did a big refurb just over 12-months ago,” Chris said. “It made it a much softer and even more special place to come to.”
A lovely pub both in aesthetics and atmosphere, it has a beautiful naturally lit dining area, a traditional bar area with stool seats and standing areas, right through to the lounge area which is neatly arranged with a number of tables and comfy chairs.
It’s the perfect place to relax with a drink and your four-legged friend. The fireplace is a feature in itself, framed neatly with an array of locally-created art pieces and classy furniture.
If you go upstairs you’ll find an elegantly presented private dining room, it is a perfectly intimate setting suitable for groups of between 10 to 26 guests.
Speaking about the food offering, Chris said that he tries to use everything that is local, including the beer.
The food is “Modern British” according to Chris. “People would describe us as a gastropub but we have a very seasonal menu,” he adds.
“We have a kitchen garden, which is where we get all of our vegetables from. Bob, our gardener, is fantastic and he keeps us on our toes. He’s always bringing us things to use, which we have to think of how to use quickly so we don’t have too much – intense, but great fun.”
This focus on seasonality is what goes some way to inspiring the dishes that feature on the menu, depending on what is available locally and how much there is to utilise effectively.
He proves this by cooking me a stunning Derbyshire roast pork sandwich, which is served open with a marmite butter (the fermented yeast grants an umami hit), confit onion ketchup, chargrilled roast pork and spiraled pork crackling crisp with fresh pea shoot leaves as a garnish. It has to be seen and tasted to be truly appreciated – definitely one of my favourite roast pork sandwiches.
As Chris shows me around, making sure to introduce me to all of the staff both front and back of house, it is apparent from the outset that this is an endearing, well-crafted, inviting, and finely tuned drinking and dining experience, which forms merely part of what Chris has seamlessly instilled in every element of this multi award-winning venue.
Every component of The Tickled Trout is a source of pride to Chris, a local man who exudes a passion for food and with the chef pedigree and background that is simply impeccable.
The team is something that Chris is so proud of, he is effusive in his praise of how each area from bar to kitchen and those behind the scenes work together, cohesively, in a friendly, respectful, and familial way. They even break bread together. Hospitality can be hectic and incredibly intense for many reasons, Chris emphasises how much of a boon this collective unit is.
“We’ve got a fantastic pub restaurant and I’ve got a wonderful team behind me as well,” he said.
It was in raising the profile of The Tickled Trout and through community collaboration that Chris has become a ‘Chesterfield Champion’, a positive boon to Barlow and the surrounding areas. But it’s testament to the team behind Chris that this venue is continues to win awards, both regionally and nationally.
One standout element of The Tickled Trout, of which there are many, is how integrated it is within the community in a number of ways.
"We encourage anyone in the village that if they have any vegetables or they’re growing too many, bring them down and we’ll swap them for beer or wine. It’s a great way to help, especially if they’ve got too many radishes or courgettes,” Chris said.
It’s in little moments like this where The Tickled Trout is not only receiving from the locality but also giving back. That’s not to say that it does not contribute in other ways to the community, it does by participating in plenty of local community charity events, which include hosting local events, raising money for charities, and much more.
“We try and work as much as we can with the village,” Chris says. “We're a very community focussed pub, we do a lot for the carnival we do other things as well. I’ve got massive support from my locals, we just try to support each other.”
What is clear to see is that The Tickled Trout is a genuinely delightful place to visit. When you enter, you’re immediately acknowledged and greeted with a smile – there is a warmth about the place. It’s apparent that each award received is well-deserved.
“You will absolutely enjoy yourself once you walk through the door’,”Chris says with a smile.
The Tickled Trout can be found at: 33 Valley Road, Barlow, Dronfield, Derbyshire, S18 7SL
Find out more at: www.tickledtroutbarlow.com
Follow The Tickled Trout: https://www.instagram.com/tickledtroutbarlow/